Tuesday, August 07, 2007

For those who haven't been following the latest MMP vs. FPTP battle, Jason Cherniak is one of the few Liberals that does not seem to have a problem with the current FPTP system; on the contrary, he and his cronies claim that FPTP is superior to all other systems. This is how they put it: it's "By the People, Of the People, and For the People... And not for the parties!" Yeah, whatever.

What bugs me most about Jason's position, is that he thinks he can get away with this kind of crap. I mean, if you're a progressive (progressive-bloggers-banner still on Jason's site? Check... he's got two!! he's got two!!), then shouldn't you at least share the opinion that democratic reform is desperately needed? Does democratic deficit ring a bell, Jason?

MMP might not be the best system in the world (I personally prefer STV), but it's at least a BIG step forward from the antiquated FPTP. And, if MMP isn't the right system for you, then what system is in your vision Jason, a better one than the current?

Nothing from Jason and his conservative cronies, no alternatives given. That means that the No-MMP camp isn't really against MMP, but it's against progress. Why? Because they give no other alternatives to the current misere of FPTP.

Isn't sticking with the old stuff, merely because it's NOT the new stuff called conservative? When will ProgBlog finally dump the hypocrite?

UPDATE: If you agree with me that Mr. Cherniak should be removed from ProgBlog, then please send a message to the ProgBlog moderators, as described by Scott in the comment section.

The ProgBLog email-addresses can be found on the home page of ProgBlog (bottom left corner); take action and keep ProgBlog progressive!

9 comments:

We don't have litmus tests at the site. If the group was to kick out someone every time they disagreed on an idea, or because they didnt meet somoene's criteria for what progressive means in their particlar view of things, there'd be no one left.

Besides, Jason isnt the only one opposing this, and I wouldn't say he's in a minority (yet) of Liberal bloggers who oppose it. If you look at Liberals For MMP, I believe there are 8 or so bloggers currently in support of it (with at least 1 Liberal blogger I know who supports it who is not listed because the blog is on a bit of a hiatus, and 2 others set to possibly join).

Other non-progressive views by Jason Chernaik? There are plenty! Here are just a few that I've collected:- Jason believes a minimum wage of $10 is far too much and uses conservative talking points (from the Fraser Institute, for God's sake!) to back them up.- There were rumours about Jason harassing female members of the liberal party, kind of :) , but you'll see what I mean; using hearsay to make a point is a trick that conservatives like Bill O'Reilly would use.- Jason thinks bombing Iran is fun!- Jason purges pro-palestinian blog Audacious over banner/ads.

His latest views simply reaffirm his conservativeness while at the same time he keeps pretending he's progressive; with two logos! Isn't it time you get the dust off that gun? It's not like you haven't used it before...time for a "warning" perhaps?

Scott says:Besides, Jason isn't the only one opposing this, and I wouldn't say he's in a minority (yet) of Liberal bloggers who oppose it.

Are those specific conservative Liberal bloggers (or anti-progressives, to be more clear) on ProgBlog too? If so, bring them on.

We (and with that I mean the whole ProgBlog community) need to stand up for progress; that's what unites us.

Good for you Scott (and other Liberals), for speaking out on MMP and taking the progressive side.

I follow my predecessor Wayne in letting the moderators decide if anything needs to be done and then sending a recommendation to the site admin, which is me at this point.

The last time someone complained about Jason (whatever the complaint was over) , when I was a moderator, it was agreed that no action was necessary. If you want to complain to the moderator team, that's up to you.

I didn't get the exact voting system that I preferred and proposed to the Ontario Citizens' Assembly. Even supporters of MMP didn't get exactly what they wanted. Some wanted regional lists, a different constituency-list seat ratio, or open lists. What PR supporter that I do know is that 103 citizens of Ontario studied different voting systems and then designed a specific MMP proposal. I will be supporting MMP in Ontario as well as STV for BC.

Jason Cherniak likes the Alternative Vote. Make no mistake: Cherniak is against proportional representation. He opposes MMP. He'd probably oppose STV, regional lists, and open or closed lists. He is not worried about the Christian Heritage Party gaining 3% of the vote; he is worried that voters will get more choices when voting. They may choose a party that either supports funding for all religious schools, just Catholic schools, or support one school system. Under the current first-past-the-post voting system, citizens' choices are effectively limited to the first two. He's worried that there may be more than one liberal or one conservative party someday.

Whooee! JC's just confirming to everyone that he is a total party hack. Disproportional representation is bad for democracy but good for the PCO and LPO. When someone puts the party above democracy, they show their true colours. In this case, we're seein' a Blue Liberal -- true blue.

BTW, I won't be writing any letter of complaint, Eric. I think we can effectively refute dumbasses without banning them. I'll be doin' my bit to keep PB pergressive by arguin' the pro-MMP message and throwin' cold water on the fear-mongerin' tactics of the anti-MMP backroom boys. JB